Religion, Study of

Courses

For course descriptions not found in the 2005-2006 General Catalog, please contact the department for more information.

RELI 1. Introduction to Religion (4)   An introduction to key topics in the study of religion through a comparative reading of religious texts and/or artifacts. The intent is to develop basic strategies of interpretation for undertaking a critical, disciplined study of religion. (Not offered 2004–2005.)

RELI 110A. The Modern Study of Religion: Religion in Modernity (4)    This class examines the history of the term “religion,” focusing upon the development of religion’s contemporary significance within the Reformation and Enlightenment, and questioning what it means to be “modern.” Topics change yearly. Special attention to contemporary culture and politics.

RELI 110B. The Modern Study of Religion: Social and Cultural Theories of Religion (4)    An introduction to basic srategies of interpretation in the study of religion, including issues of category formation, theory, and method. Special attention paid to prominent voices of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including Marx, Freud, Durkheim, Eliade, etc.

RELI 112. Texts and Contexts: The Holy Book in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (4)    An introduction to the scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, with the aim of providing a comparative perspective on the “bibles” of Western civilization.

RELI 113. Texts and Contexts: Textual Communities in South Asia (4)    This class considers important texts belonging to one or more of the following South Asian Traditions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, or Sikhism. It introduces students to the ways in which religious identities are formed and contested within a pluralistic society.

RELI 188. Special Topics in Religion (4)    Students in this lecture will investigate important problems in the study of religion or the history of particular religions. May be repeated for credit up to three times when topics vary. Prerequisite: upper-division standing.

RELI 189. Seminar in Religion (4)    This seminar requires the intensive analysis of critical problems in the study of religion or the history of particular religions. May be repeated for credit up to three times when topics vary. Prerequisites: upper-division standing; RELI 110A or 110B.

RELI 196H. Honors Thesis Research (4)    Honors thesis research for students accepted into the Honors Program. Research is conducted under the supervision of a program faculty member. Prerequisite: program approval into the Honors program.

RELI 197. Directed Advanced Readings (4)    A faculty member will direct a student in advanced readings on a topic not generally included in the Program for the Study of Religion’s curriculum. Students must make arrangements with the program and individual faculty. May be repeated for credit up to three times for credit. Prerequisites: upper-diviison standing; RELI 110A or 110B; overall GPA of 2.5.

RELI 199. Independent Research Study for Undergraduates    Independent research in religion under the supervision of a faculty member affiliated with the Program for the Study of Religion. This course may be repeated three times with program approval. (P/NP grades only.) Prerequisites: upper-division standing, with 2.5 GPA (overall); program stamp.

Approved Elective Courses

The following lower- and upper-division courses are offered on a regular basis, although not every course is available every year. Please contact the program coordinator for approved courses in any given quarter or visit the program’s Web site, religion.ucsd.edu. Students may petition other courses, including independent study and Education Abroad Program courses when appropriate.

Lower-Division

ANLD 1. Introduction to Culture

HUM 1. The Foundations of Western Civilization: Israel and Greece

HUM 2. Rome, Christianity, and the Middle Ages

MMW 2. The Great Classical Traditions

MMW 3. The Medieval Heritage

PHIL 14. Introduction to Philosophy: Metaphysics

PHIL 31. History of Philosophy: Ancient Philosophy

RELI 1. Introduction to Religion

SOC 1A, B. The Study of Society

Upper-Division

Methodological

ANGN 120. Anthropology of Religion

ANGN 147. Ritual and Symbolism

ANGN 167. Rituals and Celebrations

SOCA 100. Classical Sociological Theory

SOCC 156. Sociology of Religion

General Comparative

ANGN 104. Anthropology of Fantasy

ANGN 135. Bodies and Boundaries: Symbols in Ritual and Everyday Life

ANGN 160. Nature, Culture, and Environmentalism

HISC 162. History of Science & Religion

LTWL 100. Mythology

LTWL 133. Religion, Inside Out & Upside Down

LTWL 143. Fundamentalism in Comparative Perspective

VIS 126F. Western & Non-Western Rituals & Ceremonies

Religion in Historical Context

ANGN 184. Archaeology, Anthropology, and the Bible

ANRG 108. Hinduism

ANRG 150. The Rise & Fall of Ancient Israel

ANRG 173. Chinese Popular Religion

ETHN 161. Black Politics and Protest Since 1941

ETHN 188. African Americans, Religion, and the City

HIEA 126. The Silk Road in Chinese and Japanese History

HIEA 127. Chinese History of Medicine

HIEA 168. Topics in Classical and Medieval Chinese History

HIEA 121. Medieval Chinese Culture and Society

HIEU 101. Greece in the Classical Age

HIEU 105. The Early Christian Church

HIEU 106. The World of Late Antiquity

HIEU 107. History of Christianity from Fathers to Scholastics

HIEU 113. Rule, Conflict, and Dissent in the Middle Ages

HIEU 140. Mystics, Popes, and Peasants: Early Modern Catholicism and Society

HIEU 161. Topics in Roman History: Christianity in the Roman Empire

HIEU 163. Special Topics in Medieval History

HINE 100. The Ancient Near East and Israel

HINE 102. The Jews in Their Homeland in Antiquity

HINE 103. The Jewish Diaspora in Antiquity

HINE 104. The Bible & the Near East: The Primary History

HINE 105. The Bible & the Near East: The Prophets

HINE 106. The Bible & the Near East: The Writings

HINE 107. Ancient Egypt: History and Culture

HINE 108. The Middle East Before Islam

HINE 114. The History of the Islamic Middle East

HINE 161. Seminar in the Hebrew Bible

HINE 170. Special Topics in Jewish History

HINE 186. Special Topics in Middle Eastern History

HIRE 115. Women in Chinese Religions

HITO 102. East Asian Religious Traditions

HITO 104. Jews & Judaism in the Ancient & Medieval Worlds

HITO 105. Jews & Judaism in the Modern World

HIUS 155A/B. Religion and Law in American Society

JUDA 110. Introduction to Judaism

LTWL 131A. The New Testament

LTWL 131B. Paul & the Invention of Christianity

LTWL 131C. Reinventing Jesus

LTWL 131D. The Fourth Gospel

LTWL 131E. The History of Heresy

LTWL 131F. Christianity and the Roman Empire

LTWL 131G. Against the Christians

LTWL 134. A Cultural History of American Jewry

LTWL 139. Gnosticism: The Religious Underground from Late Antiquity to the New Age

LTWL 142. Islam: The Origin and Spread of a World Religion

Religion and Society

ANGN 100. Special Topics in Socio-Cultural Anthropology (when topic covers Religion)

ANRG 122. Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East

ANRG 170. Traditional Chinese Society

ETHN 110. Cultural World Views of Native Americans

ETHN 189. Special Topics in Ethnic Studies (when topic covers religion)

HIEA 119. Religion and Popular Culture in East Asia (SOCB 162R)

HIEA 120. Classical Chinese Philosophy & Culture

HIEA 137. Women and Family in Chinese History

HIEU 110. The Rise of Europe

HIEU 111. Europe in the Middle Ages

HIEU 125. Reformation Europe

HIEU 163. Topics in Medieval History: Saints in Social Context

HILA 106. Religion in Latin America

HINE 118. The Middle East in the 20th Century

HINE 166. Nationalism in the Middle East

HISC 101B. Medieval Science in the Latin West, ca. 500-1500

LTWL 136. Goddesses and Women in India

LTWL 141. Islam and Modernity

POLI 110A. Citizens & Saints: Political Thought from Plato to Augustine

POLI 110B. Sovereign Subjects in the Modern State: Machiavelli to Rousseau

POLI 110C. Revolution & Reaction: Political Thought from Kant to Nietzsche

POLI 121. Government and Politics of the Middle East

SOCB 122. Jerusalem: Sacred and Profane

SOCB 160. Sociology of Culture

SOCB 162R. Religion and Popular Culture in East Asia (HIEA 119)

SOCC 154. Religious Institutions in America

SOCC 157. Religion in Contemporary Society

SOCD 158. Islam in the Modern World

SOCD 158J. Religion and Ethics in China and Japan

SOCD 188A. Community and Social Change in Africa

SOCD 188B. Chinese Society

SOCD 188F. Modern Jewish Societies and Israeli Society

SOCD 189. Special Topics in Comparative-Historical Sociology: Chinese Society in Transition

Religion and Literature

HINE 160. Special Topics in the Bible and Ancient Near East

JUDA 100. Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

LTEN 106. Chaucer’s Contemporaries

LTEN 118. Milton

LTEN 120D. William Blake and the Age of Sensibility

LTEN 125B. First-Generation Romantic Poets: Wordsworth, Rousseau, and Burke

LTEN 147. Metamorphoses of the Symbol: Mountains From Moses to Muir

LTEN 149. Themes: New Testament and English and American Literature

LTEU 100. The Classical Tradition: Myths of Ancient Greeks & Romans

LTEU 105. Medieval Studies: Dante

LTNE 100. The Bible & Western Literature

LTNE 101. The Bible: The Narrative Books

LTNE 102. The Bible: The Prophetic Books

LTNE 103. The Bible: The Poetic Books

LTNE 150. Arabic Literature in Translation

LTWL 135. The Buddhist Imaginary

LTWL 138. Critical Religion Studies

LTWL 145. South Asian Religious Literature: Selected Topics

Religion and Philosophy

LTWL 101. What Socrates Knew

PHIL 104. The Rationalists

PHIL 130. Metaphysics

PHIL 131. Topics in Metaphysics

PHIL 185. Philosophy of Religion

Religion and the Arts

HIEU 124. The City in Italy (VIS 122E)

THHS 103. Ancient Greek Drama in Modern Version

VIS 120A. Greek Art

VIS 120B. Roman Art

VIS 120C. Late Antique Art

VIS 121B. Castles, Cathedrals & Cities

VIS 121D. The Illuminated Manuscript in the Middle Ages

VIS 122AN. Renaissance Art

VIS 122D. Michelangelo

VIS 122E. The City in Italy (HIEU 124)

VIS 123AN. Between Spirit & Flesh: Northern Art of the Early Renaissance

VIS 124BN. Art & the Enlightenment

VIS 126BN. The Art and Civilization of the Ancient Maya

VIS 128BN. Topics in Early Modern Art History: The City of Rome: The Making of a Christian Capital